Maybe it's because left-sided players are inherently rarer. Or that a very good left-sided player is an even greater rarity. But the hot commodity of a top-class left-back has long weld itself as a lynchpin in winning sides, and this Premier League season has revelled in a number of left-backs performing a cut above their peers.
In the fourth instalment of our ‘Best of 2021/22’ series, football fans vote for their top-performing left-back of the season.
In last week’s centre-back edition, voters selected an impervious combination of Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk and Chelsea's Antonio Rudiger, the latter only just pipping Manchester City's Ruben Dias.
